Getting barrelled is much easier on a bodyboard, fact.
It has seen the best proponents of their sport push the limits of
deep-tube travel and pioneer many of the heaviest waves on earth,
winning huge respect from all corners of the aquatic community in the
process. Others, meanwhile, are despised and disrespected in equal
measure for attempting to ride their equipment in hollow waves of a more
perfect nature. Then there are those who bodyboard and surf better than
you. Time now to wallow in aquatic inadequacy, friends.

Tyson Williams

What a loss to the waterman community
Tyson Williams is. The ultra-talented pro bodyboarder and part-time
stand-up took his life recently following a long battle with depression.
But not before driving both sponge and stick through some of the
heaviest barrels on the planet. Tyson, who turned pro at 16, grew up in
Manly and rode for Rip Curl and Morey Bodyboards. He won a drop knee
world title along with numerous World Tour and National Tour events. He
was also one of the original ‘Milo Kids,’ appearing in commercials for
the confectionary giant. His passing at the age of 36 means the end of
the road for a pioneering cross-over waterman.

One of the rare cross-breeds. You will be missed Mr Williams. Image: (Screenshot) Tim Bonython Productions

Tyson’s stand-up wave at Chopes featured
in the clip above reportedly came about after he was lampooned by
someone in the channel for riding a bodyboard. He took great offence and
immediately paddled to another boat to retrieve his fibreglass
surfboard. The spit from Tyson’s wave reportedly gusted the hat off his
antagonists head revealing a big dirty patch of devon on his scalp.
Heavy.

Andrew Lester

Nineties Cronulla hard-nut and Shark
Island great, Andrew Lester, grew up in close proximity to the pioneers
of stand-up slab surfing; the likes of Rusty Moran, Greg ‘Ox’ Mckinley,
and Gerry Manion. After winning the Pipe Masters on a boog in 2001, and
scoring countless mutant drainers at his beloved Shark Island, he honed
his stand-up tube game to an admirable level. An Australian bodyboarding
great, Lester now commands waves on a stick at several of the world
class slabs that dot his area.

Shark Island hellman, on the belly. Image: (Instagram)

Can hold a fibreglass rail when required. Image: (Instagram)

Daniel Ryan

Yamba’s Dan Ryan was diagnosed with
depression in 2008 but after being offered prescription drugs as a
solution he instead turned to a combination of surfing giant waves,
eastern philosophy, meditation, medicine and nutrition. He’s lives in
Margaret River now and by last report was working in the mines in the
state’s north west. He is a regular at The Right, which is where he
first grabbed the two rope and got yanked into the wave you see above.
You might also recall his game-changing Chopes beating in 2013 on a
boog.

“I used to see him out at The Box a lot
pulling into bombs out there, then a few years ago he gained some
recognition for paddling into tow-sized waves at Teahupoo on the boog,”
recalls leading lensman, Chris Gurney. “Since then I've seen him out at
The Right a few times on a surfboard. He doesn't seem too phased about
riding different crafts - he has gotten a few of the biggest waves ever
ridden out there for sure. Overall I'd say he's a low key guy who is
very confident and experienced in the ocean, be it bodyboarding or
surfing, paddling or towing,” he says.

No words required. Image (Instagram)

Ryan Hardy

Without doubt one of the most tubed
humans on the planet. Ryan Hardy is a bodyboarding Pipe Master, an
Australian Tour Champion, and the star of countless bodyboarding videos,
including the much-loved Tension series. He is also part of a surfing
dynasty from the wave-rich Margaret River region in Australia’s
South-West, with brothers Gene and Brett among the most respected
underground chargers in the area. Ryan’s father is also a well-known
shaper in the south west. Just because he can, Ryan often takes the
stick out to the wave he made his name on, The Box, and gets spat out of
stand-up tubes that have maimed and humiliated some of the world’s best
(just ask Miguel Pupo, Adriano De Souza, or Adam Melling).

Hardballs, a man that shaped a generation of prone riders. Image: (Instagram)

Kainoa Mcgee

“The most versatile bodyboarder of
all-time,” according to the Bodyboarding Museum. Kainoa Mcgee’s waterman
abilities extend to all crafts and corners of the ocean. A longtime
rival of Mike Stewart, and the star of countless cover shots through the
late eighties and nineties, Kainoa shocked the surfing world in 2010
when he made the semi-finals of Hansen’s Energy Pro WQS contest at
Pipeline on a fibreglass surfboard. He knocked out the likes of stand-up
legend Shane Beschen on his way there. All after taking up surfing just
two years earlier.

Watch this man at Pipe and allow your prejudices to dissolve. Image: Flickr

Damian King

Two-time bodyboarding world champion
Damian King hails from the self-proclaimed “Bodyboarding capital of the
world,” Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast; also the home of
Australia’s first bodyboarding world champ, Michael Eppelstun, as well
as World Title runner-up, Mick ‘The Ginger Ninja” Campbell. Kingy
was also a dropknee world champion, which no doubt feeds into his
ability to his impress stand-up surfing prowess. He now uses his
bodyboarding profile to sell properties as a real estate agent in Port
Macquarie.

One of the most well-rounded spongers in the game; Kingy. Image: (Instagram)

Asked to compare the two pursuits, Kingy
said, “I don’t think you can really compare them; they are 2 totally
different sports and good in their own right and wave conditions. It’s
not about what’s better and what’s not – at the end of the day whoever
has the most fun in the water wins. From what I’ve experienced, both
parties are on equal highs."

Well he is known for his drop knee abilities. Image: (Instagram)

"Surfing is fast and fluent, and if
you’re a good surfer you’ll be able to surf a lot of the heavier waves
in the world. As a grom, what drew me to bodyboarding was the moves that
you can do on a wave; it’s more orientated around projecting off the
lip, with backflips, 360 airs, barrel rolls, etc. Now that I’m older, I
am a little more experienced and my bodyboard allows me to get into some
of the world’s heaviest and shallow waves. Because you’re lying on your
board, you can free fall into waves when they jack in front of you and
get into some positions on waves which would be hard on a surfboard.